08TBILISI1522, CLAIMS OF ATROCITIES IN GEORGIA MERIT SERIOUS

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TBILISI 001522
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR GEORGIA COORDINATION GROUP, EUR/CARC AND S/WCI
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2018
TAGS: PRELPGOVPHUMKAWCRUGG
SUBJECT: CLAIMS OF ATROCITIES IN GEORGIA MERIT SERIOUS
INVESTIGATION
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).
¶1. (C) Summary and Comment. In advance of S/WCI Ambassador
Williamson's September 8-11 visit to Georgia, the Embassy has
compiled a preliminary list of the many reports we have
received of "ethnic cleansing" and accusations of "war
crimes" that have taken place in the conflict zones and areas
adjacent to the conflict zones taken from the Georgian press,
international journalists on the ground, NGOs, local
residents, and the Georgian government. Limited access to
many affected areas makes assessing the reports difficult.
Although called a war by some, we believe that from a legal
perspective the violence is more likely to be considered an
international conflict, thus triggering the application of
broader portions of international treaties governing the
conduct of war. The Geneva Convention of 1949 identifies a
set of individuals and property entitled to protection and
prohibits certain actions against these protected classes. If
the criteria defined by the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia for "ethnic cleansing" and "war
crimes" are used as a guide, then serious investigation is
warranted based on the reports below. End Summary and
Comment.
General context
---------------
¶2. (C) On August 8, 2008, the Russian Army (RA) entered
South Ossetia under the auspices of protecting its
peacekeepers and citizens in South Ossetia. Russian
President Medvedev claimed that the Georgian Army (GA)
committed atrocities against Russian citizens, and the RA
entered to protect the South Ossetians and Russian
peacekeeping forces stationed in South Ossetia. The conflict
soon spread beyond the conflict zone in South Ossetia into
Georgia proper, with the Russian Armed Forces attacking
civilian and military targets, and occupying substantial
swaths of territory before withdrawing the bulk of their
forces August 22. There are reports of Cossacks, South
Ossetian separatists and RA elements kidnapping, wounding and
raping Georgians, both civilians and soldiers, as well as
looting, and robbing banks, even after a cease-fire was
declared the weekend of August 16-17. There are also reports
of South Ossetian forces and others affiliated with Russia
began a systematic identification, separation, and killing of
ethnic Georgians in South Ossetia and surrounding villages.
Separatist South Ossetian "president" Kokoity at one point
boasted to the press that several ethnic Georgian villages in
the territory "have ceased to exist." Even as discussions
were ongoing about the withdrawal of Russian troops, South
Ossetian forces occupied the predominantly Georgian town of
Akhalgori in the far eastern edge of the conflict zone and,
according to Georgian officials, forced local residents to
accept Russian passports and South Ossetian administrative
officials or to leave. This action was enabled by RA forces
who set up a checkpoint on the main road to Akhalgori,
between Georgian police and South Ossetian forces.
¶3. (C) Many of the offenses are alleged to have occurred in
South Ossetia, access to which is still controlled by Russian
forces. Although a small number of independent observers,
including journalists, Human Rights Watch and the
International Committee for the Red Cross, have been able to
travel into South Ossetia, they have not been given full
access to the territory. In addition, Russia continues to
refuse entry to many, including OSCE monitors and U.S.
government officials. The incidents listed below represent
initial compilation efforts and should not be considered
comprehensive, as a unimpeded investigation to confirm facts
is not yet possible. These initial reports warrant further
investigation.
What We are Hearing
-------------------
¶4. (C) Since August 7, post has received many reports from
all over Georgia which can be categorized as:
¶A. Willful Killing. Emboffs have received reports of
Russians rounding up ethnic Georgians in South Ossetia and
shooting them. Human Rights Watch (HRW) researchers say they
have documented evidence that cluster bombs were used in and
around the villages of Shindisi and Pkhvenisi, in the Gori
District, and in the town of Ruisi in the Kareli District.
GoG authorities claim that a cluster strike in Gori city
center killed at least eight civilians and injured dozens.
They also suggest that Russian forces deliberately used
"Afghanistan"-style cluster bombs (an apparent reference to
the Soviet invasion), which have red ribbons attached to the
munitions in order to attract children. HRW noted that the
TBILISI 00001522 002 OF 003
Georgian military also used cluster bombs. The Georgian MOD
wrote a letter to HRW acknowledging that it used cluster
munitions, but noted that they were only used against RA
military forces coming from Russia through
the Roki Tunnel.
(Embassy note. Apparently, these were Israeli GRADLAR 160
multiple launch rocket systems and MK4 LAR 160 type (with M85
bomblets) rockets with a range of 45 kilometers. End note.)
In the letter they explain that the bombs were directed not
at civilians, but at Russian military hardware. The same
letter also stressed that the Russian side aimed the cluster
bombs at residential areas, targeting the civilian
population. Dutch journalist Stan Storimans was killed in
among those who died in Gori and Israeli journalist Zadok
Yehezkeli was injured.
¶B. Destruction and Appropriation of Property. Eyewitness
accounts have relayed incidents of irregular forces looting
Georgians homes and businesses, car-jacking international
journalists, and robbing reporters. Some accounts accuse
Russian troops and separatists of hauling furniture,
televisions, personal items, and household fixtures from
private homes. Russian and separatist forces burned down
houses in Surani, Khashuri, Tkviavi, and Tidznisi and in some
cases were proud of the fact that Georgian enclaves in South
Ossetia had been destroyed. On August 22, de facto South
Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity told the Russian news agency
Regnum that Georgian enclaves in South Ossetia had been
liquidated, with the villages of Kekhvi and Tamarasheni being
totally destroyed. The Georgian government has publicly
distributed satellite imagery of Tamarasheni, a predominantly
Georgian town north of Tskhinvali, to show widespread fire
damage.
C: Attacking Civilian Objects. Georgian government
officials allege that Russian forces ignited the Borjomi
forest, a National Heritage Site, and initially refused
Turkish firefighters permission to extinguish the blaze. The
roads were blocked, preventing Georgian firefighters from
reaching the blaze, which then spread to neighboring
villages. The government claims that 50,000 hectares of
national forest were burned in the Ateni National Forest as
well.
¶D. Killing or wounding a person outside of combat.
According to local inhabitants, a resident of Gori was shot
when he attempted to stop looters in his home. It is unknown
how many civilians in the Tskhinvali area were killed by
bombardments from Georgian, South Ossetian and Russian
forces. On August 8-11, Russian warplanes bombed the
residential area of Gori, killing 45 civilians and injuring
more. As a result of these bombings, eight apartment
buildings were destroyed in Gori, leaving about 500 families
homeless. In a village near Agara (Kareli District), locals
reported Russian military jets bombed an ambulance.
E: Attacking protected objects. GoG reports claim bombing
of ambulances in Agara (Khashuri region). While local
national staff at the Embassy received reports of damage at
an Orthodox monastery and the Nikozi church from the . In
Azhara (Kodori Gorge) Russian forces reportedly threatened
nuns. Russian and Ossetian irregulars reportedly robbed the
Gori-Samtavisi Eparchy, and took personal items from the
priest there.
F: Destroying or seizing civilian property. While initially
targetting military objects, Russian forces eventually
attacked civilian targets, which in turn set off mass
looting. The Georgian government reports looting in the
following villages: Brotsleti, Mejvriskhevi, Gorijvari,
Tkviavi, (Gori District), Breti, Avnevni, Tseronisi, Knolevi
(Kareli district), and Khandaki, Doesi, Karaghadi (Kaspi
District). Assets damaged or destroyed by the Russian
military and/or South Ossetian separatist include, civilian
radar stations in Savhsebi and Tbilisi, civilian
administration buildings at Poti port, a German-owned cement
factory in Kaspi, the Didi Liakhiv Museum in Kurta, the Ivane
Machabeli Museum in Kurta, the Sachkere Hospital, the Lomisi
Beer Factory, and a Gori television transmission station.
The Enguri hydro-electric station and the Ganmukheri youth
camp were captured. The GoG alleges landmines were set
around the Enguri power plant and on the Khaisi and Chuberi
bridges. Not unexpectedly, the city of Gori was hardest hit
by Russian missile attacks, with the university, post office,
hospital, and three museums sustaining damage. The Georgian
government also reported mines in a dozen utility facilities
(such as electricity substations) around the city. Russian
bombs and a missile struck the ground above the Baku-Supsa
Pipeline four km south of the Vaziani airbase. Russian
troops reportedly looted goods from Poti port, vandalized the
Georgian Coast Guard headquarters, and stole a UK-provided
TBILISI 00001522 003 OF 003
vessel. British Petroleum representatives reported that on
August 18, drunk Russian soldiers arrived at the Baku-Supsa
pipeline pumping station in Nabakhtevi and began shooting
their weapons into the air, harassing the local workers. A
recently released report by the GoG indicates that the
following villages sustained significant damage during
hostilities: Kvemo-Achabeti, Tamarasheni, Kekhvi, Kura, Zemo
Achabeti, Kemerti, Dzarcemi, Tskhinvali, and Kheiti.
G: Rape-Sexual Violence. The GoG reported multiple
instances of Russian Cossacks raping Georgian girls/women in
villages from South Ossetia to Gori. Additionally, GoG
claimed local sources told them of Ossetian Separatists
taking Georgians hostage in the villages of Nikozi, Dzveri,
Tkviavi, Karaleti, Kaspi, Ditsi, and Arbo. Deputy Minister
of Interior Zguladze told visiting Representative Christopher
Smith of a disturbing kidnapping of a 25-year old woman by
Russian forces from a mini-van; according to Deputy Foreign
Minister Giga Bokeria, the woman was released on August 23 in
very poor condition. Two senior Georgian parliamentarians
told visiting Senator Corker that they understood 17 Georgian
women had been raped, but cautioned that the number could be
much higher, since Georgian women often do not report rapes
because of the social stigma attached.
H: Enforced disappearance of persons. Post received reports
that Russians were gathering Georgians and taking them to
South Ossetia for unknown reasons. In some accounts,
Georgians were blindfolded and transported away. GoG
authorities reported that Ossetian separatists, with the help
of Russian soldiers, kidnapped Georgians from the villages of
Bobnevi, Marana, Dzevera, Khidistavi, Tchalaubani and
forcefully took them to a forest. Deputy Foreign Minister
Giga Bokeria told Ambassador on August 25 that over 250
Georgians were being held in a Tskhinvali camp and were used
as forced labor to clean up the city. (Note: Detainee
exchanges have been ongoing since the cease-fire. End note.)
I: Rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force
or intimidation to remove persons or given groups from these
areas. GoG authorities maintain that the Russian army and
Ossetian separatist militia deliberately targeted the
civilian population of Georgian villages in the Didi Liakhvi
valley, the Patara Liakhvi valley and the Frone Valley in
South Ossetia. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International
,
and eyewitnesses report mass destruction of Georgian villages
in these regions. GoG authorities cite UNOSAT satellite
images as clear evidence of the damage inflicted on Georgian
villages around the city of Tskhinvali. Government sources
indicate as many as 40,000 Internally Displaced Persons, many
of whom were forced out of ethnically Georgian villages south
of Tskhinvali, may need long-term shelter in Gori, as ethnic
Georgians are not being allowing to pass through Russian
checkpoints to return to their homes. Post has also received
numerous reports of ethnic Georgians in South Ossetian
villages being pressured to accept Russian passports, submit
to Ossetian control, or leave. The GoG has distributed a
summary of its ethnic cleansing allegations in a report
entitled "The Facts on Ethnic Cleansing of Georgians by the
Russian Army." (Text forwarded to EUR/CARC.)
TEFFT

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